Aelian’s On the Nature of Animals

The legends and innovations of the Roman Empire have been instilled in us since childhood. We know the great stories of legal and political governance, all-knowing gods and goddesses, military power and conquest, and developments in science and engineering. But we have known little, until now, about their knowledge of the animal kingdom—which was, by far, the most advanced in world history, thanks to the encyclopedic observations of Claudius Aelianus. Sometimes insightful, accurate, and scientific, and at other times fanciful, humorous, and bizarre, this collection of second-century insights offers the ultimate historically based entertainment for animal and nature lovers alike.

Accolades

Winner of Independent Publisher's Gold Award (classics & philosophy)

Praise

“A fascinating caricature of our tendency to imbue the minds of others, be they animal or human, with the characteristics, qualities, and motives of our own.”
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— Brain Pickings

“'If Aelian’s science is sometimes sketchy, the facts often fanciful, and the history sometimes suspect,' McNamee writes, 'it is clear enough that he had a grand time assembling the material.' And so does McNamee. As he points out, 'The Nature of Animals' is 'mostly randomly ordered,' but its often comic trifles make pleasant bedside reading.”

— Washington Post

“With more obscure tales than you can shake a paw at, this is the book for anyone who has ever wondered about the weird world of wildlife.”

— New Scientist

“It's really under the radar and a true delight to read. Check it out now.”

— Nancy Pearl

“If you know even a little bit about the natural world, you’ll find Aelian's On the Nature of Animals quite ridiculous.”
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— Utne Reader

“Aelian’s tales are delectable, satisfying reads because of their larger perspective, the encompassing vision of humans and animals and science and nature as part and parcel of the same character.”
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Claudius Aelianus, known to us as Aelian, was born sometime between A.D. 165 and 170 in the hill town of Praeneste, in what is now Palestrina, about twenty-five miles from Rome, Italy. He was fond of making almanac-like collections, only fragments of which survive, devoted to odd topics such as manifestations of the divine, the workings of the supernatural, and observations on the animal kindgom.

Gregory McNamee is a writer, editor, photographer, and publisher. He is the author or title-page editor of thirty-five books and more than 4,000 articles, essays, reviews, interviews, editorials, poems, and short stories. He is a consultant, contributor, and contributing editor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and its blog, a contributing editor to Kirkus Reviews, and a contributing editor to the BloomsburyReview. He is a research associate at the Southwest Center and a lecturer in the Eller...